How Much Realism To Include

[MissRoberta]

We have all varieties of non alcoholic carbonated beverages with obscene sugar content in all kinds of flavors and variations. In other parts of the country I have heard them referred to as soda or pop. In Texas, the generic is coke.

When ordering a specific flavor, it is acceptable to use the brand name, but as a generic, they are referred to as coke, not soda.

But whatever you call it, we're a friendly bunch. We don't generally bite unless requested.

Thank you for helping me understand soft drinks in Texas! I was feeling lost

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Thank you for helping me understand soft drinks in Texas! I was feeling lost

I've absolutely heard this conversation in Texas:
Can you grab me a Coke?
Sure, what kind?
Pepsi.
Got it.

Then you have Illinois, and Indiana where you get a "Pop".

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Thank you for helping me understand soft drinks in Texas! I was feeling lost

Like I said. We're a friendly bunch. Hell, we even give you a choice of sweet of unsweet tea. Got to warn you though, make sure your insulin pump is charged if you ask for it sweet.

 

[SimonDoom]

Guys, I'm very confused. A girl from South Texas said, "Don't worry, Roberta, we have soda," and I was so happy, but now I'm sad.

I think the confusion is over what you call it, not whether it exists. Of course, it exists everywhere in the US.

In the West, we call a Coke a Coke, or a soda if referring to it generically, or maybe a soft drink.

My understanding is that in the Midwest and parts of the East they call it pop.

In the Boston area they often referred to it as "tonic." I'm not sure if that's still true, but I can recall it being referred to that way a while ago when I was in that area.

In the South they mysteriously call everything "Coke." Like, not just Coke, but other sodas/soft drinks/pops get called "Coke." Makes no sense to me, but many Southerners have confirmed this. I had a professor in grad school, obviously from the South by his accent, who used to guzzle Coke (real Coke) during the early morning class. Seemed strange to me. But Coke is, after all, headquartered in Atlanta.

 

[MrPixel]

Then you have Illinois, and Indiana where you get a "Pop".

We've lived in mid-Illinois for 20 years and I have never heard it called "pop" here. "Soda" in reference to soda machines, "soft drink", "You okay with Pepsi?" when requesting a Coke in certain restaurants, "We have Sprite" when asking for 7-Up. And so on. Nearly always by a product name.

Then there's "sweet tea", a Southern tradition. Sweet tea cutoff line here seems to be I-70.

 

[alohadave]

In the Boston area they often referred to it as "tonic." I'm not sure if that's still true, but I can recall it being referred to that way a while ago when I was in that area.

It's an old timer thing now. Not many people under 65 still use it, and mostly the ones who grew up in the city. Boston has so many transplants that the terminology is becoming much more generic to the rest of the country.

 

[ronde]

Like I said. We're a friendly bunch. Hell, we even give you a choice of sweet of unsweet tea. Got to warn you though, make sure your insulin pump is charged if you ask for it sweet.

Here in Tennessee, "sweet tea" is the description for white syrup over which they waved a tea bag.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

We've lived in mid-Illinois for 20 years and I have never heard it called "pop" here. "Soda" in reference to soda machines, "soft drink", "You okay with Pepsi?" when requesting a Coke in certain restaurants, "We have Sprite" when asking for 7-Up. And so on. Nearly always by a product name.

Then there's "sweet tea", a Southern tradition. Sweet tea cutoff line here seems to be I-70.

College friend from Springfield Illinois usually said "pop".

In a restaurant in Texas if they are a Pepsi place and you ask for a coke they will clarify.
That conversation is usually.
I'll have a Coke.
Pepsi OK?
You have DR Pepper?
Yes.
DR Pepper then.

Fun Fact Dr Pepper is from Waco, they have a fun museum there.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Google is your friend. I'm working on a story that takes place in Philly. I've never been there but have managed to include some nice local references just a little research.

In a recent story, I was trying to identify a restaurant for the characters to eat lunch in. This was in an area of our county that I wasn't very familiar with, so I used both Google and Yelp to help me identify a likely place.

The next Friday, my wife and I are eating at the bar of one of our favorite Italian restaurants, chatting with the owner. He introduces us to the couple sitting a few stools down as the owners of a couple of restaurants in the town where my story was set. I learned that they owned the restaurant I had selected from the internet.

When I mentioned that I had used their place in a book I was writing, they invited us to come by. Their personal tour and sampling of several of their dishes allowed me to add much greater realism to that part of the story.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

This is a blatant attempt to steal some attention from the 403rd AI rejection thread.

My question: how much realism do you try to inject in your stories? I'm talking more about what you might call mechanical realism or verisimilitude, so it's applicable even in a fantasy setting. For example, if you've got a scene with a swordfight, do you try to impress the audience with your knowledge of actual sword-fighting techniques, or do you opt for something more minimalist? Likewise, if you're writing about real places or real professions, how much detail do you prefer to include?

For my part, I'm generally aiming for somewhere in the vicinity of plausible. Basically, I just want to avoid jarring inconsistencies that would leave even readers as uninformed or unfamiliar as myself scratching their heads. I accept that real experts, and anyone who at least fancies themselves an expert, will probably be able to find faults with my depictions, because I'm not willing to put in sufficient work to fool them.

Anyone else care to weigh in?

Readers have compared me to Tom Clancy due to the details and realism most of my stories contain (remember, I write mostly novel-length stories).

To contrast this, I tend to only tease where sexual content is concerned, bringing readers right to the "point-of-contact" before letting their imaginations take over. With very few exceptions, I do not seek realism by graphically describing acts of sex between characters.

 

[Bramblethorn]

This is a blatant attempt to steal some attention from the 403rd AI rejection thread.

My question: how much realism do you try to inject in your stories? I'm talking more about what you might call mechanical realism or verisimilitude, so it's applicable even in a fantasy setting. For example, if you've got a scene with a swordfight, do you try to impress the audience with your knowledge of actual sword-fighting techniques, or do you opt for something more minimalist? Likewise, if you're writing about real places or real professions, how much detail do you prefer to include?

For my part, I'm generally aiming for somewhere in the vicinity of plausible. Basically, I just want to avoid jarring inconsistencies that would leave even readers as uninformed or unfamiliar as myself scratching their heads. I accept that real experts, and anyone who at least fancies themselves an expert, will probably be able to find faults with my depictions, because I'm not willing to put in sufficient work to fool them.

I think this is generally a reasonable level, but noting that technical detail can be helpful in establishing characterisation. In the great Westley/Inigo duel in The Princess Bride, they discuss fencing as they fight, referencing several historical fencing experts. The effect there is not to explain to the reader how they're fighting, so much as to establish that Inigo is a guy who has put a lot of work in to become as good as he is.

One non-Lit story I read recently has a character whose father was a con-man who ripped people off by claiming to be able to make a very valuable kind of pottery; the son tries to escape from his father's shadow by becoming the master potter that his father only pretended to be. So his passion for pottery is an important part of the characterisation, and part of how it's demonstrated is that this otherwise taciturn man can easily be drawn into monologuing Excessive Pottery Opinions by asking him about, say, porcelain, or the way to make a bowl.

 

[nice90sguy]

Was there at least a slippery pot-throwing scene in that story?

 

[Kumquatqueen]

College friend from Springfield Illinois usually said "pop".

In a restaurant in Texas if they are a Pepsi place and you ask for a coke they will clarify.
That conversation is usually.
I'll have a Coke.
Pepsi OK?
You have DR Pepper?
Yes.
DR Pepper then.

Fun Fact Dr Pepper is from Waco, they have a fun museum there.

In Scotland, pop/soda/coke is often called 'juice'. Especially in areas where the myth that Scots don't know what fruit and veg are is a bit close to truth. Squash (I think Americans would have to call it non-alcoholic cordial, basically imagine Kool-Aid coming as a super concentrated liquid) is called 'diluting juice'.

In England it's just a drink, or a 'fizzy drink' or 'soft drink' or 'mixer' if you need to specify more detail. 'Minerals' is still used in parts of Ireland.

We have the same issue with places that only serve Pepsi, which no-one ever asks for. The server just calls out 'Pepsi do?' and doesn't wait for an answer before pulling it anyway. So sometimes people call a non-Coke from Pizza Hut or a cinema a pepsidoo.

I had feedback from a reader on my story Homesick Halloween, that if you can't get Dr Pepper in English cafeterias or McDonalds, they're never moving to the UK. Ah, well.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

The car chase scene in Bullitt is a good example of when realism does and doesn't matter.
It was revolutionary at the time because they didn't use the blue screen backgrounds common to car chase scenes back then. They closed streets and had cars blasting through San Francisco at 110 mph. Utter realism.
On the other hand, if you know the layout of San Francisco, the route was impossible. They spliced together scenes from locations that were miles apart. It was completely unrealistic from a geography standpoint, and no one cares.

 

[StillStunned]

if you can't get Dr Pepper in English cafeterias or McDonalds

Dandelion and burdock comes pretty close, if I recall correctly.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Dandelion and burdock comes pretty close, if I recall correctly.

I thought D&B was similar to root beer? Is Dr P root beer? I can't stand any fizz myself, so I have no idea.

Do people still eat ice cream sodas, btw? I tried once when offered here, and I have to say dumping a scoop of chocolate ice-cream in fizzy lemonade didn't improve it any.

 

[Imstillfun]

This is a blatant attempt to steal some attention from the 403rd AI rejection thread.

My question: how much realism do you try to inject in your stories? I'm talking more about what you might call mechanical realism or verisimilitude, so it's applicable even in a fantasy setting. For example, if you've got a scene with a swordfight, do you try to impress the audience with your knowledge of actual sword-fighting techniques, or do you opt for something more minimalist? Likewise, if you're writing about real places or real professions, how much detail do you prefer to include?

For my part, I'm generally aiming for somewhere in the vicinity of plausible. Basically, I just want to avoid jarring inconsistencies that would leave even readers as uninformed or unfamiliar as myself scratching their heads. I accept that real experts, and anyone who at least fancies themselves an expert, will probably be able to find faults with my depictions, because I'm not willing to put in sufficient work to fool them.

Anyone else care to weigh in?

When I write a true story I am more ’matter of fact’ as opposed to descriptive prose. In a fantasy I go for more descriptive.

 

[StillStunned]

I thought D&B was similar to root beer? Is Dr P root beer? I can't stand any fizz myself, so I have no idea.

It's been years - measured in decades, perhaps, if not ice ages - since I had either, but I recall the first time I had Dr P and thinking, "Hey, I recognise this flavour."

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I thought D&B was similar to root beer? Is Dr P root beer? I can't stand any fizz myself, so I have no idea.

Do people still eat ice cream sodas, btw? I tried once when offered here, and I have to say dumping a scoop of chocolate ice-cream in fizzy lemonade didn't improve it any.

Dr Pepper is not root beerish at all.

 

[Sinstories]

I thought D&B was similar to root beer? Is Dr P root beer? I can't stand any fizz myself, so I have no idea.

Do people still eat ice cream sodas, btw? I tried once when offered here, and I have to say dumping a scoop of chocolate ice-cream in fizzy lemonade didn't improve it any.

Dr Pepper can best be described as cherry cola with some other things going on. Doesn't resemble root beer at all IMO.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Dr Pepper can best be described as cherry cola with some other things going on. Doesn't resemble root beer at all IMO.

Coke tried to copy it with Mr. Pibb, but that's about as close as you'll get with other 'cokes'

 

[Bamagan]

I'm late to the soda/pop/coke discussion, but I love maps, and this is one of several that float around the internet:

One interesting thing that corroborates @MrPixel's experience is that the Midwest is generally pop but that there's a "soda band" of sorts anchored by St. Louis and Milwaukee. The South, as anyone who spends much time here can attest, is indeed 'coke country.'
My favorite is from xkcd, though.

 

[MrPixel]

One interesting thing that corroborates @MrPixel's experience is that the Midwest is generally pop but that there's a "soda band" of sorts anchored by St. Louis and Milwaukee.

Oh, that makes sense. Yeah, we're on the border of "soda" vs. "pop".

 

[Comentarista82]

Nerd anecdote here:

The writers on Star Trek the Next Generation were aware that it is impossible to know both the location and direction of atomic particles a la Heisenburg's Uncertainty Principle. But the transporters, which rely on taking people apart atom by atom and reassembling them at the destination, need to know both bits of information. Obviously they weren't about to write the technology out of the series so they just threw in an occasional reference to 'Heisenburg Compensators' in the technobabble.

They were frequently asked at conventions "How do the Heisenburg Compensators work?"

To which they'd simply answer "Very well thank you."

With science fiction, as you give more and more detail you either reach the point where a) you've basically invented the new technology you're describing (if you're Arthur C Clarke) or else b) it because obvious that you don't know what you're talking about (if you're anyone else).

Here's a little bit more of nerd anecdotes:

I forget exactly where they proved it, although I know back in 2000 they were trying to prove if warp drive was possible, and if Transporters were possible. I know Baylor proved that warp drive is possible, and more refinements to that proof came out in 2008, with other articles coming out since; there was an article somewhere around 2012 or 2013 that said a USS Enterprise could be built, although it would need about 20 years and something like I forget how much money (I think they estimated it would require about 1 trillion dollars); you do have antimatter, which is currently being produced at a certain rate at the CERN super collider, however when they calculated the amount of anti-protons they would need for powering the same kind of thing in Star Trek.. you need at least a hundred years at current output levels. But the one thing they were able to prove is that as of now transporter technology is impossible, because you could do something like harness all the power from all the nuclear explosions from the nuclear bombs we have left and that still wouldn't be sufficient energy to do the matter-energy conversions.

So, if somebody does talk about science fiction, to go by what's established and what's been proven or at least theoretically possible. If somebody gets past that, then somebody like me is going to call BS on that, as I saw one author try to say this ship could go this speed, and it was clear it was impossible to do.

 

[Comentarista82]

College friend from Springfield Illinois usually said "pop".

In a restaurant in Texas if they are a Pepsi place and you ask for a coke they will clarify.
That conversation is usually.
I'll have a Coke.
Pepsi OK?
You have DR Pepper?
Yes.
DR Pepper then.

Fun Fact Dr Pepper is from Waco, they have a fun museum there.

Actually, Dr Pepper first started in Dublin Texas, and they have the original bottling plant there... right across from the Ben Hogan Museum too! I remember I thought that Dr Pepper was from Waco, but they started in Dublin, and once they saw the demand was exploding for it, they moved to bigger production facilities in Waco. In fact, if you go by any convenience store that sells soda there in Dublin, everything there that has Dr Pepper will list with real cane sugar, which was the original sweetener for it.